Preparation of a structural angle for further use may require drilling, punching, and severing portions of the angle to create a configuration needed for the particular end use application (e.g., installation in a structural steel frame of a building or bridge, installation in a vehicle, installation on or in a machine or other assembly, etc.). Conventional machines exist for performing some or a number of these processing operations.
Structural angles may have to be provided in appropriate lengths for being erected in specific structures or used in other applications. Methods for creating one or more shorter segments from a length of angle stock include severing the shorter segments from a longer length of angle stock with a shearing apparatus. See, for example, the shearing apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,782.
When structural angles are used in a structural steel frame for a building, the angles are typically connected with bolts to other structural frame members (e.g., I-beams or wide flange beams). The bolts are received in holes provided in the legs of the angles and in the other structural members to which the angles are connected.
Conventional methods for providing the bolt holes in an angle include drilling the holes with one or more drill spindles, or punching the holes with one or more punch presses. For example, in one type of machine, a structural angle is supported lengthwise adjacent a drill carriage which supports a drill spindle so that a drill mounted thereto can be moved to desired locations along the length of the angle, along the heights of the angle legs, and toward or away from the angle.
Holes in the legs of an angle may also be made with punch presses. Such punch presses may have conventional designs well-known to those skilled in the art. Various punch press designs for structural members are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,631,996, 3,722,337, and 3,720,125. A machine for processing a structural angle might also move the angle through an assembly of tools (e.g., drills, punch presses, and a shear) which are at fixed locations along the length of the machine.
For some uses of structural angles, it is desirable to be able to efficiently provide holes in the legs of relatively short lengths of structural angles. One such type of short, structural angle is a standard “clip” angle or clip used to connect two larger structural beams (e.g., I-beams or wide flange beams). FIG. 1 shows two horizontally oriented I-beams 51 and 52 connected to a vertical I-beam 53 with such clip angles 56 and 58. FIG. 1A shows the clip angle 56 alone, prior to installation. The clip angle 56 has three bolt holes 57 in each leg of the clip angle.
In the connection illustrated in FIG. 1, the I-beam 53 includes a central web 60 and two parallel flanges 62 which are each perpendicular to the web 60. The I-beam 51 has a central web 64 which is connected at one end with the clip angle 56 to the web 60 of the I-beam 53. The I-beam 52 has a central web 66 which is connected at one end with the clip angle 58 to one of the flanges 62 of the I-beam 53. The clip angles 56 and 58 are attached to the I-beams with bolts 68 and nuts 69. The bolts 68 are received in the holes in the clip angles 56 and 58 and holes made in the I-beams.
Clip angles, such as the clip angles 56 and 58, are typically between about 5 and 15 inches in length and usually have 3 or more holes in each leg. The two legs typically define a right angle (i.e., 90 degree angle) configuration extending from the structural angle vertex or heel 59 (FIG. 1A). Each hole in one leg of a clip angle is typically “in line” with a corresponding hole in the other leg. That is, the longitudinal axis of the center of a round hole in one leg is perpendicular to, but co-planar with, the longitudinal axis of the center of a corresponding round hole in the other leg.
It would be beneficial to provide an improved machine that could efficiently make holes in the legs of structural angles, especially clip angles.
It would also be advantageous to provide an improved machine that could efficiently make holes in a structural angle, especially a clip angle, at or near the lateral side edge of the angle and at or near the longitudinal end edge of the angle.
Further, it would be desirable if such an improved machine for making holes in structural angles had a relatively short length and also had an improved design that could accommodate carriage feeding of a stock length of structural angle with reduced length requirements for the carriage travel.
It would also be beneficial to provide such an improved machine with the capability to very rapidly move the machine components into position adjacent the desired location of a hole to be made in the structural angle, and to move the machine components in a way that minimizes the amount of time required to move the machine components into the positions or locations for making the holes.
Also, it would be advantageous to provide such an improved machine with the capability for reducing the amount of motion required to position the machine components as necessary to make a hole, thus reducing the possibility for positioning errors.
It would also be desirable to provide an improved machine employing both a drill and a punch. This would allow the punch to be advantageously used instead of the drill to create some holes either more quickly and/or with non-circular configurations, but would allow the drill to be used in situations where there is not enough clearance near the angle vertex (i.e., heel) to accommodate a punch or where the hole can be made better by drilling (e.g., when the angle leg thickness is greater than the hole diameter).
It would also be desirable if such an improved machine could (1) be designed to be readily operated manually or by an appropriate automatic or semi-automatic control system, (2) accommodate a variety of different sizes of structural angles, and (3) produce accurate and repeatable results.
Further, it would be advantageous if the improved machine could be manufactured, installed, and operated without incurring excessive costs or expenses.